Arquivo da tag: multisite churches

A well-seasoned, self-confessed “church addict” who has tasted both the joy and pain of being a church pastor recently completed a humorous yet painfully honest book on the ten most common mistakes pastors make that keep their churches from growing.

A well-seasoned, self-confessed “church addict” who has tasted both the joy and pain of being a church pastor recently completed a humorous yet painfully honest book on the ten most common mistakes pastors make that keep their churches from growing.

Pastor Geoff Surratt, who had pastored a small, rural church with under 100 members and is now part of a megachurch with over 10,000 attendees on a given Sunday, shares his insight in his latest book Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing.

Before diving into the top 10 mistakes, Surratt made sure to clarify that the purpose of the book is not to point out the flaws of fellow pastors, but to offer them perspective on what could be hindering their churches from growing.

“I want to be that friend … the one willing to point out the unzipped zipper, the broccoli between the teeth, the glaring mistake that others can’t or won’t bring to the struggling pastor’s attention,” Surratt offers.

But why is he qualified to “point out other people’s mistakes,” readers may ask.

Because he has committed all ten of the mistakes highlighted in the book, he readily admits.

“My role is not brilliant guru bringing down wisdom from the mountain, but rather experienced fellow traveler,” Surratt says. “When I point the ‘stupid finger’ at you, three fingers are pointing back at me.”

Out of the 10 mistakes he covers, the most common and the first to be addressed in the book is “Trying to Do it All.”

A comical quote at the bottom of the chapter page cleverly conveys the problem that pastors often find themselves in: “Just because I’m the janitor doesn’t mean I can’t perform your wedding.”

“Pastors tend to default to doing everything themselves rather than working through people in the congregation,” Surratt explained to The Christian Post. “They take on a lot of different hats and wind up overworked and underproductive because of that.”

When Surratt was the pastor at Church on the Lake in Texas, a small church with less than 50 people when he took over, he was simultaneously the head pastor, Sunday school teacher, bookkeeper, worship director, administrative assistant, groundskeeper, maintenance man, and janitor for a time.

“As I look back on my time at Church on the Lake, I can’t help but wonder what I was thinking,” Surratt confesses. “Trying to do all (or most) of the work themselves is the number one stupid thing pastors and leaders do that inhibits their church from growing.”

Not far behind is stupid mistake No. 2 – “establishing the wrong role for the pastor’s family.”

The pastor’s wife, Surratt highlights, often picks up odd jobs around the church that no one wants or that haven’t been filled. Too often, the pastor in “pursuing God’s vision” will put ministry before his family and without asking for his wife’s opinion will dump church work on her.

A subheading in the chapter called, “How to Destroy Your Family,” lists five “stupid ways” a pastor or ministry leader can destroy their family while chasing after God’s vision for the ministry.

Throughout the book, Surratt reveals intimate details about how his “destructive path of ministry” nearly ended his marriage. But at what he calls the lowest point in his marriage, the two were able to rebuild their relationship and it has become progressively better over time, Surratt says.

“The idea holds that if we simply arrange our lives according to the formula God first, family second, and ministry third, then everything will flow together smoothly,” Surratt writes. “It’s a great theory, but unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way.

“First, God isn’t a priority in life; God is life. He isn’t more important than your family any more than air is more important that your shoes. I don’t prioritize breathing; I breathe so that I live.”

Surratt highly recommends any pastor or church leader to seek Christian marriage counseling if they’re having trouble in their relationship. Rather than feeling embarrassed that they need help, pastors should understand that sometimes they need a third party for them to open up and share their thoughts and feelings.

“A funny thing about pastors is that when they need to fix their car, they go to a mechanic, and when they need to fix their health, they go to a doctor, but when their marriage needs help, they are almost never willing to go to an expert for help,” Surratt writes half-jokingly.

“Of all the stupid mistakes a pastor can make, not getting help with his marriage is the dumbest of all.”

Although the book was written with pastors as the intended readers, Surratt contends the tips in his book can be helpful to any leader in the church.

Other mistakes covered in the book include: promoting talent over integrity, clinging to a bad location, copying another successful church, mixing ministry and business, and providing a second-rate worship experience.

The book Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing is scheduled to be released in May 2009 by Zondervan publishing company.

It is scalable, looking good while as large as a billboard or as small as a dime. It looks good in color as well as black and white. And it is simple enough that it can be applied to a media spectrum as broad as paper to plastic and t-shirts to websites.

Most importantly, a good logo communicates the unique qualities of its brand. A great church logo in and of itself does not create great church branding. But it does give a church the foundation needed to build a solid brand.

Below are the top 33 church logos in alphabetical order. They are chosen for the reasons listed above as well as by my subjective opinion. Keep in mind, I am judging only the logo by itself and not the supporting church branding.

I’ll be keeping the list updated as I come across other church logos worth sharing in the future. For now, enjoy the eye candy.

Much like the One Prayer initiative, VideoTeaching.com allows churches to hear guest speakers via free sermon video downloads. The idea behind it is that churches can have a free resource to expand their teaching team, give the pastor occasional breaks, share the load with church planters and bi-vocational pastors, and even serve as an interim “pastor” during a leadership transition.

VIDEO TEACHING AS A CHURCH MODEL
But reality is the scope of how VideoTeaching.com can be used is far deeper and versatile. In fact, a church could use video sermons all the time. Many churches have likely not been planted because the church planter believes he is not eloquent enough, theologically deep enough, or seminary certified to preach. However, when free video sermons from some of the world’s best preachers are available, obviously this excuse is gone.

4 Possible Video Teaching Church Models

Central Organization Similar to a multi-site church, this model has central leadership that oversees all locations and determines video teaching content that is the same for all campuses. Locations could either be planted by the central organization like most multi-site church campuses or passionate followers could start a location similar to LifeChurch.tv’s Church Online watch parties.

Central AdminSimilar to a denomination, this model has central leadership that oversees all locations administratively, but a campus pastor or elders determine the Video Sermon content for each location based on what that congregation’s spiritual needs are. For example, a New England location may struggle with greed while a location in Oklahoma may struggle with gluttony. While all sermon topics are important, this model allows for each campus to focus on what is most important to their spiritual walk.

Central DistributorSimilar to a standard church, this model has a central distributor of sermon content such as VideoTeaching.com, but each church is independent, self-governing, and determines its own video teaching content.

Extra ChurchSimilar to Sunday school and small groups, this model uses video teaching as extra doses of “church” in addition to weekend church services.

WHY CONSIDER VIDEO TEACHING?
Church conferences, authors, and blogs have been rallying for years for the Church to be like the early Church. We talk about organic explosive church growth that produces authentic disciples, but then we do little to change our methods. If we hardly change how we do church, then we can hardly expect to revolutionize the results we get.

So why don’t we change how we do church? I think it is because we are scared. We are scared of failing, and we are scared of doing something theologically wrong. Christians are notorious for boycotting anything new, including church organs and church choirs when they were first introduced. This is not to say that we should all jump on the Video Teaching band wagon like a bunch of lemmings. But I think we should ask questions.

How To Start A Podcast

Daniel Darnell – Originally posted Monday, August 17, 2009

For a lot of us, podcasts have become a standard part of our lives, whether it’s in the form of a sermon podcast from you favorite pastor or a technology podcast featuring rumors and reviews from geeky gadget gurus. Maybe it’s time you started your own podcast if you haven’t already. Here are a few tips to get you going in no time.

1. Getting the Right Gear
The cheapest way to record your podcast is with your computer’s built-in microphone and free audio recording and editing software such as Audacity. If you’re a Mac user, your machine comes with a microphone built in and Apple’s GarageBand installed, which nearly automates the entire process for you. For those of you looking to record a pastor’s sermon, connect your soundboard’s output to a computer’s line-in and record the audio directly to the computer using your audio recording software of choice.

If you’re looking for a step up in quality, a handful of companies offer podcast starter kits for a reasonable price. For example, M-Audio offers a Podcast Factory kit that includes a microphone, USB interface, and software for around $100. This type of setup tends to be the standard for most podcasts, but there are other higher-end options out there if you have a bigger budget. (Hint: Sites such as www.MusiciansFriend.com are good places to look for podcasting gear.)

2. Editing the Podcast Audio and Files
Simple editing techniques such as adding intro jingles and voiceovers, or just trimming the length of your episodes, will help separate your podcast from the rest of the pack. Also, if you have the ability to normalize your audio (balance the audio levels), do so—listeners are easily annoyed by having to constantly adjust the volume on their iPods or car stereos.

Next you’ll need to convert your podcast files into .m4a, .mp3, .mov, .mp4, or .m4v format so they are compatible with iTunes. Then import each converted file into iTunes and edit its file information (title, author, image, etc.) before you upload it to the Web. (Hint: Click – File > Get Info to edit the file’s information.)

3. Preparing the XML File
Once your podcast is recorded, edited, and converted, it’s time to share it with the world. One of the most important, yet complicated, things about a podcast is creating the XML file for iTunes and other RSS readers to read. For those that want to stay away from XML language, there’s a free Mac program, VODcaster, that does the heavy lifting for you. For Windows users, there’s RSS Feed Creator. There are also paid services such as Sermon.net that will help walk you through the process. If you manage to get lost along the way, apple.com has a walkthrough of the process featuring step-by-step instructions. (Hint: While making that XML file, make sure you use the proper iTunes category, tags, author, etc.)

Next, you’ll need a place on the Internet to store both your XML file and media files so others can access your podcast. I suggest you use your personal website’s server or your church’s server to host these files. (Hint: Every time you create a new podcast, make sure to update the XML file on the server or it won’t show up in iTunes!)

4. Creating a FeedBurner Account
Once the files are in place, your next step is to create a FeedBurner account at feedburner.google.com before you publish it to iTunes. With FeedBurner you can see how many people are subscribed to your feed, how many people have downloaded a certain episode, and what application they’re using to keep up with your podcast. All you need to know is your XML file’s address and FeedBurner does the rest. Now you’re ready to publish your podcast!

5. Publishing the Podcast
With the XML file created, the audio file uploaded, and FeedBurner set up, you can now submit your podcast to the iTunes directory. To publish a podcast, open iTunes and select iTunes Store in the source list. On the iTunes Store home page, click Podcasts, then click Submit A Podcast(iTunes link) at the bottom of the page and complete the form.

Use the FeedBurner RSS link you received when you set up your FeedBurner account as your Podcast Feed URL. Now all you have to do is wait for iTunes to approve it, and you’re done! (Hint: You may have to wait a day until your podcast shows up on iTunes, so be patient.)

While podcasting may not be a simple, three-step process, I hope these steps help to get the ball rolling as you start podcasting. If you’re still lost, visit the websites below for helpful tips and support.

A Saturday evening at the Second Baptist Church of Houston is like Christian worship in most American towns: a sermon, some music, nice people walking from the parking lot with Bibles in hand.

The difference is scale. Second Baptist is the second-largest “megachurch” in the U.S., a modern cathedral complex the size of an airport terminal. Inside “E Gym,” where the congregation’s “small” Saturday evening service is being held, two basketball courts full of believers in jeans and flip-flops rock out, sing along or just watch as a huge contemporary band jams to the song “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?”

White and yellow stage lights hit the rising smoke before the performance cools down for the opening prayer. The sermon stops for applause as the audience watches an video projected overhead of a Christian-gone-wild beach retreat, where the church baptized nearly 700 teenagers.

Spread across five campuses, Second Baptist has about 24,000 people attending one or another of its programs each week. The church has fitness centers, bookstores, information desks, a café, a K-12 school and free automotive repair service for single mothers. The annual budget: $53 million.

“We are a town within a city,” says pastor Edwin Young, 73, whose sermon style ranges from conversational to yelling to Southerner-about-to-weep.

Churches across America–like shopping malls, houses, corporations, hospitals, schools and just about everything else–have erupted in size in the last few decades. The number of megachurches in the U.S. has leaped to more than 1,300 today–from just 50 in 1970.

Featuring huge stages, rock bands, jumbotron screens, buckets of tears and oodles of money, as well as the enormity of the facilities, pastor personalities and income–over $8.5 billion a year all told–these churches are impressive forces flourishing at staggering rates.

On a megachurch database updated by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, Second Baptist in Houston is listed as the second-largest based on average weekly attendance. (No. 1 is Lakewood Church, five miles from Second Baptist. And rounding out the top 10 are North Point Community Church, near Atlanta; Willow Creek Community Church, near Chicago; LifeChurch.tv, of Edmond, Okla.; West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Los Angeles; Fellowship Church, of Grapevine, Texas; Saddleback Valley Community Church of Lake Forest, Calif.; Calvary Chapel, of Ft. Lauderdale; and The Potter’s House, of Dallas.)

Second Baptist’s “21st Century Worship Center” is being refurbished since Hurricane Ike hit last year. Originally built in 1986 for $34 million, the church is spending $8 million for repairs and upgrades, not including what insurance covered. An electronic projection system will display scripture verses around the cavernous, octagonal, balconied room, which will seat about 6,500 people under a dome that reaches six stories high. There are towering columns and larger-than-life faceted glass windows depicting the Biblical stories of the beginning and ending of mankind.

“You won’t find anything in here that is ostentatious. You’ll find beauty,” says Pastor Young. “God’s house ought to be beautiful.” Young, a self-described “redneck, blue collar, south Mississippi country boy” and son of a utility-pole-lineman, started his flock in 1978 with 300 attendees–less than half the number of teenagers baptized at the beach recently.

“It’s a phenomenon of this generation,” he says of the sheer size and growth of congregations like his. “It’s meeting some niche there.”

Megachurches, considered Protestant, with more than 2,000 people attending each week, cut a wide swath across the country. In 2005, California led the nation with 178 of them, followed by 157 in Texas and 85 in Florida, according to the book Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn From America’s Largest Churches.

“We believe it is only a matter of time until every state has a congregation of megachurch size,” write authors Scott Thumma and Dave Travis. “Americans have not only grown accustomed to large organizations, but they have even had their character and tastes shaped by them.”

Thumma, a professor at Hartford Seminary, has since his book reported that the average megachurch income was $6.5 million in 2007, up from $4.7 million in 1999. About 50% of it was spent on salaries, the rest divided evenly between missions and buildings. Meanwhile, he says nine out of 10 megachurches more than doubled in size between 2002 and 2007.

Among the fears of Ed Young Jr., pastor of Fellowship Church in the Dallas area, No. 7 on the list of largest megachurches, and gaining on his father at Second Baptist, is the financial accounting of growth that comes with mergers and added campuses. And he wonders if megachurches are “just taking people from other churches because we have a cooler church.”

Only 6% of megachurch attendees who participated in one of Thumma’s surveys said they were at their first church. They appear to be being pulled from other congregations or brought back into practicing their faith after falling off the wagon. Two-thirds of megachurch attendees have been going for five years or less, he found.

A third of megachurch attendants are single compared with 10% at a typical church, and the average age is 40 compared with 53. Twenty-six percent of families at megachurches earn more than $100,000 a year, compared with 15% at typical churches, which tend to have slightly better regular attendance rates.

But questions over tax-exemption status and squabbling over high-profile pastors are growing concerns. In recent years, none more than Joel Osteen, 46, the best-selling author and pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, the largest megachurch in the country, has been questioned more about his riches.

“God has blessed me with more money than I could imagine from my books,” says Osteen, who gave up his $200,000 salary about five years ago, when royalties started flowing from his Your Best Life Now. He adds of he and his wife, Victoria: “I don’t think it has changed our lifestyle, it has just given us the opportunity to help more people.”

Joel’s father started Lakewood with a congregation that would fit aboard two buses and grew it to 6,000. Since he died in 1999, Joel has grown the flock more than seven fold. In 2008 Lakewood had a $70 million budget, up from $50 million in 2005. In addition to the 7 million watching on television in the U.S. (services are broadcast to more than 100 countries), about 43,500 people come to the former Compaq Center, where the Houston Rockets used to play, for any of the five weekly services.

Lakewood leased the center from the city of Houston in 2004 for 60 years, paying $13 million in cash for the first 30 years rent. Then they threw $95 million more in on top of that to try to make the 650,000 square foot building feel like an intimate church. There is wall-to-wall carpet beneath the 14,000 seats. The largest of three jumbotron screens is 32 feet by 18 feet. Twin waterfalls book-end a stage that rises and falls before a circling gold globe and a pulpit, where Osteen, often lambasted by critics for being light on theology, preaches about staying positive. He says he doesn’t want to be “too religious” in hopes to reach the “everyday person.”

“Don’t drive up and down the freeway and just see the traffic, potholes and the construction. Look out at the beauty of God’s creation. Look out at the trees, look up into the sky. Breathe in the goodness of God,” he told his following on a recent Sunday. “When that critical spirit comes, you have to deal with it one thought at a time.”

Out in the sea of believers and donators, amid scores of television cameras, was James Lyster, 38, a tattooed steelworker dressed in a suit. Others came in jeans and T-shirts. “The spirit of the Lord is here,” he says. So is the rumble of a dramatic drum solo and the blare from a band belting the lyrics of “Come in From the Outside Just as You Are.”

After the service, some 400 people lined up to visit with the Osteens. An usher had to cut it off. “I’ve already turned away 100 people,” he said. Nearby was a man who said he visited from Idaho with his son who was about to be treated locally for leukemia. Another, A. D. Achilefu, 28, whose father is from Nigeria and has attended Lakewood for eight years, says the congregation is a good glimpse of what heaven will be like: “a big melting pot.”

“Osteen is responding to the psychological needs of our culture in a theologically accessible way,” says Nathan Carlin, a doctoral student in religion studies at Rice University, who co-authored the recent article in Pastoral Psychology “Joel Osteen as Cultural Selfobject.”

“Many preachers tell us that God loves us, but Osteen makes us believe that God loves us. And this is why he is so successful,” he says.

It’s unclear how much more successful he can be or how much bigger megachurches can get, even in Texas. One sign of success: Despite the economic downturn, Lakewood says they are on par with last year’s collections.

“When I was growing up, a church of 1,000 was a big deal,” Osteen says. “But you know what, it’s just a different day today. I don’t know where we will be in 30 years. Will there be churches of 100,000 or will we be meeting in big stadiums? I can’t fathom that now, but I don’t know.” It could come sooner than that. In April 45,000 people filled New York’s new Yankee Stadium to hear him speak.